The Happytime Murders
In a world where puppets coexist with humans, but are reviled by humans and considered inferior, Phil Phillips is a puppet who lives in Los Angeles, and was the first puppet cop on the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) before being fired. Now working as a private detective with his human secretary Bubbles, Phil is approached by puppet client Sandra, and is hired to find out who has been blackmailing her. While looking for a lead at a puppet owned pornshop, Phil goes in the back to check the records. When Phil is gone, an unknown attacker comes in and kills everyone present, and it is revealed one of the customers, Bumblypants, is a cast member from “The Happytime Gang”, a popular puppet sitcom from the 90s that was due to go into syndication.
After the LAPD arrive at the crime scene, Phillips meets up with his former partner, Detective Connie Edwards, with whom he had a falling out. Twelve years ago, Edwards was being held at gunpoint by a puppet criminal, and Phil tried to shoot him, but he missed and hit an innocent puppet, killing him in front of his young daughter. The thug shot Edwards, but she killed him before he got away. The gunshot wound nearly proved fatal for Edwards, who was left with a puppet liver as a result of a transplant when a puppet clinic was the closest available medical treatment facility after she was shot. Left with an addiction to sugar which is essentially like heroin to puppets, Edwards later testified against Phil and he was thrown off the force with a law put in place to prevent puppets from being cops.
At present time, Edwards believes it was a robbery gone wrong, but Phil notes that it was just murder because the assailant didn’t take anything. That night, Larry “Shenanigans” Phillips, former Happytime cast-member and Phil’s brother, is torn apart when someone lets a group of dogs into his house. Enraged, Phillips reluctantly teams up with Edwards at the request of Lt. Banning to find the killer.
Believing the killer may be targeting members of “The Happytime Gang”, and discovering that the contract for syndication promises the royalty money to surviving family members, the two track down former cast member Lyle, who is now a drug lord, dealing in sugar only for him to be killed in a drive-by shooting in front of Phillips. The next day, Phillips goes to see Jenny, the only human member of “The Happytime Gang” and his former girlfriend, at a puppet strip club where she now works. However, Phillips is unable to protect her when her car explodes, seemingly killing her. The police arrive and see Phil leave the scene, believing him to be responsible for the murders.
Phil hides out at Edwards’ apartment and the two discover that another former Happytime Gang member, Goofer, now a homeless sugar addict, has been found dead under a pier after supposedly overdosing and falling over into the ocean. The two head out of town to find the two remaining Happytime Gang members, Ezra and Cara, also known as the Kissing Cousins. Phil and Edwards head to their house and come across Ezra and Cara’s mangled bodies inside. The killer gets away, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shows up with other agents to capture Phil and Edwards.
Phil is shown Sandra in an interrogation room, who lies and says that Phil killed Jenny and the others, and was trying to keep Sandra for himself, also revealing that she was Jenny’s wife. The FBI detains Philips afterward. After arguing with FBI agent Campbell, Edwards is suspended from duty. Edwards finds Bubbles in her apartment to ask for her help in proving Phil’s innocence. She has Sandra’s home address and they break into her place to find any info they can. They come across a hidden room with pictures and notes planning the deaths of the Happytime Gang as well as a whole conspiracy against Phil. Edwards then notices a picture of Jasper Jakoby, the puppet man who Phil accidentally shot years ago. Edwards realizes that Sandra is Jasper’s daughter, and she has been planning revenge against Phil for her father’s death. Bubbles sees a tape recorder and presses the play button, which ignites a fire that destroys all the evidence against Sandra. Edwards goes to tell Phil what she’s learned, and she breaks Phil out of jail to stop Sandra.
Phil and Edwards make it to the airport, where Sandra is planning to depart with all the royalty money, due to her status as Jenny’s spouse leaving her the sole surviving heir to the money. Phil runs up to her and tries to apologize for killing her father, saying it has haunted him all those years, but he asks why the Happytime Gang had to die because of it. Sandra says she wanted Phil to suffer as payback. It also turns out that Jenny is alive, having faked her death, and is in cahoots with Sandra, but Sandra instead knocks Jenny out to take the money for herself and get away after Philips reveals her true history. Edwards runs after Sandra and tries to get in her plane, but Sandra gets the drop on her first and holds her at gunpoint. She steps outside with Edwards, putting her and Phil in the same position as before. Phil takes his shot and doesn’t miss this time, hitting Sandra in the head and killing her.
Banning arrives to congratulate Phil and Edwards on cracking the case. He restores Edwards to active duty and convinces the mayor to have the law against puppet cops repealed, welcoming Phil back on the force. Phil also asks Bubbles out on a date, and she accepts.
Classification: 15